Bovada Sportsbook: Best Sports Betting Site
Welcome sports fans, to the review of one of the greatest and most historic sports betting sites for US players, Bovada Sportsbook. This sports betting site is sort of a grandfather to many of the fledgling sportsbooks that have gained prominence lately. Just because the people running Bovada are some of the most respected, and well-established bookmakers in the industry does not mean they have an outdated product either, as this sports betting website does almost everything better than the online sportsbooks that were designed to beat it.
In this review of Bovada Sportsbook, we will look at many things that comprise this website including the legal side of sports betting, and just how Bovada is able to safely welcome American sports bettors. TopUSSportsbooks.com will cover some safety aspects of the site, and take readers through some of the many great features like their easy deposits, endless wagering opportunities, and easy access. And if this is your first time venturing into an online sportsbook, congratulations, as you have found the Holy Grail of USA sports wagering sites.
Bovada is a legal and licensed online sports betting site based in Canada, and specifically designed for players in the United States. This sports betting site is not subject to the provisions of the Wire Act or the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) because it does not physically operate on U.S. soil...as long as the site is bookmaker exists outside of the US, it can function legally. The UIGEA only applies to online sportsbooks that offer credit card payouts, and Bovada's sports betting site does not. Furthermore, Bovada does not report to any U.S. based authority so no one will know you bet there unless you tell them.
Yes, Bovada is completely safe. It is a fully licensed gaming facility that offers a wide variety of options for its valued customers. For over ten years, Bovada has held the Kahnawake Certificate of Good Standing. Salmon River Technologies Ltd, a well-respected pioneer of gaming in Canada, operates it. Bovada provides the highest level of quality for its customers. If parents are worried about underage use of the site, there’s no reason to fret, because users of Bovada must be of legal age. There are many ways in which Bovada verifies that a customer is of legal age to use the site, which we will cover in the next section.
Bovada accepts players from all but five states in the US. The restricted states are New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and Maryland. This is because either these states offer some form of sports wagering already, or their laws exist in a grey area. Players must be at least 18 years old or the legal betting age in their respective states in order to register with Bovada's sportsbook.
Signing up is as simple as clicking on the “join now” button at the top left of the homepage. All you need to have is a valid email address, and you will be able to join for free. The site will ask you for some simple contact information, and you will create a password. You don’t need to enter any financial information to join the site, so feel free to look around and explore the sportsbook before making your first deposit. Before long, you will want to start getting in on some real money action, and you will want to get your account funded.
There are a few different ways you can deposit money into your Bovada account. Using a credit card, debit card, or gift card is the fastest and most popular option. For credit/debit, Bovada accepts Visa, AmEx, and MasterCard deposits, as well as Visa gift cards. Some cards may require you to fill out a verification form as a security measure. If this is the case, you can try another card or simply fill out the form and send it in. You can also use the Verified by Visa program if your bank utilizes it, which requires users to enter an additional password when making transactions. The program adds an extra layer of security to an already very secure system. There is no extra charge for this service. The minimum deposit amount for cards is $20, and the maximum is $1,000 per deposit. There is no fee on your first deposit, but subsequent deposits do come with small fees; 4.9% for Visa, 8.9% for AmEx, and 6.9% for MasterCard.
Deposits to your Bovada account can also be made using a cash wire transfer, meaning Western Union or MoneyGram. You will need to contact Bovada by email or their customer service number (1-866-950-3500) to set up a transfer. This US sportsbook deposit method takes 2-3 days to complete, and comes with a 4.9% fee unless you deposit over $300, in which case Bovada will cover the fee. There is a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $5,000 for Western Union, and a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $900 for a MoneyGram transfer. We suggest this method for those that are making large deposits.
A player can get his or her payout money by several methods. The first is check via courier. To make sure you receive your check, make sure you have provided Bovada with your correct address. You must provide a physical street address, as checks cannot be mailed to PO Boxes or military addresses. Delivery of your check may take from anywhere between four and seven business days. Bovada issues checks in the amount of up to $3000 per check. If your payout is more than this amount, Bovada may elect to either send one check in the amount of $3000 per 7 business days, or combine multiple checks into one larger amount. Please not that it is important to cash checks immediately upon receipt, as checks may become stale-dated after a certain amount of time and may no longer be valid.
The second method by which a customer may receive his or her payout is by Rapid Transfer. The minimum payout amount will be $300 and the maximum is $5,000. The processing fee starts at $20 and increases by $10 for every hundred dollars spent. This is a speedy and popular method that takes less than two days, and is great for medium-to-large payouts.
The final method Bovada offers is a bank wire transfer. This deposits the money in to your savings account, and is great for large withdrawals. You must contact Bovada and supply them with your bank wire instructions in order to use this method. The minimum is $1,500, and the max is $9,500 per payout. Fees vary, so check with Bovada when you contact them. Bank wire transfers usually take between 5-10 business days to go through. Each method has its pluses and minuses, and you should not have a problem finding a sportsbook withdrawal options for US players that is right for you.
Bovada offers some excellent US sportsbook bonuses and promotions for its valued customers. One of the best is the $250 sports welcome bonus. If you are a sports bettor, you can opt to receive a 50% Welcome Bonus worth up to $250. You can choose this bonus in the drop down menu that appears when you make your first deposit. Choose “50% Welcome Bonus” to make sure Bovada knows that you want the reward.
There is a 5X rollover requirement for this bonus, so keep that in mind. This means that you must wager the amount you deposited, along with the bonus amount, five times before the bonus cash becomes available to withdrawal/bet with. If you will be making many wagers, then you should have no problem meeting the rollover requirements. Luckily, Bovada now allows you to cancel any bonus program that you are using, so if you feel like you might not meet the requirement, you can cancel the bonus and only the bonus amount, and the subsequent winnings from that amount, will be forfeited.
You will find all of the usual odds types at Bovada, and they are all very simple to use and understand. The simplest way to wager is on the moneyline. This is simply placing a bet on who will win a game or event, and it’s as simple as that. You have the odds set for two teams at plus and minus, the negative number representing the favorite, and the positive number representing the underdog.
You will also find the good old point spread, the most common way to win. If you are unfamiliar with the spread, it is a way for the bookmaker to handicap the odds so that each side comes out relatively equal in stats. Similar to the moneyline, the spread will have positive and negative numbers next to the teams indicating a giving and taking away of points. If the underdog is at +5, that means that five extra points are added to their final score (with regards to the bettors, this has no effect on the actual turnout of the game), so the favorite must win by more than five points for the wager to succeed.
You will also find futures odds at Bovada. Futures are not some science fiction form of wagering, they are just odds that are posted for games that are coming up somewhere down the road. Futures usually use fractional odds. For example 3/1 oddus means that the bettor will make $300 on a $100 stake. The bettor actually makes $400 on 3/1 odds because the bettor also wins back the original stake.
Single Bet: A single bet is simply placing a wager on the outcome of one game or event. This is the simplest way to get in on the action, and we recommend making a few single bets if you are new to sports betting. You can wager on the moneyline, the point spread, or a combination of both teams scores with a single bet.
Parlay: Also known as a combo bet. It’s based on a combination of several different games, anywhere from 2 to 12. The payout of the parlay is determined by how well all the bets turn out as a whole. It is a rather high-risk way of betting, but has the potential for higher payout. It is important to note, however, that if even one of the bets in the parlay is lost, the entire parlay is lost.
Teaser: A teaser bet is a method of diminishing the risk associated with a parlay. This allows you to tinker around with the point spread or the totals, adjusting them to your favor. The caveat of doing this is that you will receive a lower payout. Therefore, your odds of winning are better, but the amount you might win is lowered. The same rules apply to teasers as they do to parlays when it comes to all your wagers having to win.
Round Robin: Round robins are excellent ways for experienced sports bettors to tie together many parlays. If you are confident in multiple lines, instead of tying the them into a parlay, you can go the round robin route and create every imaginable two-team parlay out of the lines that you choose. This big advantage here is that you usually only need to hit one combination to recoup your funds for the whole round robin.
Buying Points: Buying points allows you to shift the points of an NFL, NBA, or college football or basketball game. This lets you add points to the underdog, or take away points from the favorite. The disadvantage is that you are “buying” these points, so your profit margin will decrease.
If Bet: This is similar to a parlay, but is less risky. You place multiple bets, but you progress to the second bet only if the first bet wins. If the first bet loses, you don’t progress to the next bet. There are many other types of bets, but the ones described above are the most common.
If you are on the go and aren't near a computer, you can use Bovada’s Mobile Betting App for your Android, smartphone, iPad, iPhone, or almost any other device that has an internet connection. This way, you can bet anywhere and anytime. It’s a convenient way to experience the myriad games Bovada has to offer. It’s free and easy to use. You can make all your parlays, keep track of your payouts, make deposits and withdrawals, etc. from the palm of your hand! Not only that, but you can now manage your entire Bovada account with this feature. Is there a game coming up and your account is dry? If you aren’t near a computer there is nothing to fear, just sign in to your account from the palm of your hand and make a quick deposit.
One of the great things about using a top US sportsbook is that they get odds hot off the presses, before the land-based counterparts do. Bovada uses this technology in a genius way by offering a live betting sportsbook. This allows you to wager on your favorite teams during a real life game. The odds update in real time right in front of your eyes, and you can wager as many times as you’d like until the game is over.